The Princess and The Witch
by Umiko Vaelestine
Summary: This is a KonoSetsu story. It's about Konoka being pursued by the bad guys, then Setsuna comes to her rescue, or so it seems.
1. Prologue 1

DISCLAIMER: All Negima's characters belong to Akamatsu Ken.

* * *

The Princess and The Witch

Prologue - Part 1

"Hah... hah..."

Running...

"Hah... hah..."

Running...

"Hah... hah..."

In the middle of the night, a hooded girl was running through the forest, her footsteps broke the silent scenery.  
How long had she been running?  
One hour? Two hours? Or more than that?  
Or had it just been a few minutes?  
She couldn't tell.  
She didn't have the time to care about that.

Many footsteps were resounding behind her.  
They were getting louder.  
They were getting nearer.

"I... I can't... any... longer ... but... if they... catch up..."

She had reached her limit.  
Yet the footsteps still continued getting nearer.  
Just a little more and they would....

Suddenly  
She came to a small clearing, and before her eyes appeared a small cottage. It looked like a hunting lodge, but there seemed to be someone inside.

"... In the middle of nowhere like this? ... No! There's no time to think!"

Having no other choice, she ran up to the cottage's door and knocked hastily.

"Some... someone! Please... help me!" - She whispered under her ragged breath, trying to make it as loud as possible without letting the pursuers notice.

"Please... someone..."

Then, there were some small noises and the door cracked open a little. And a girl's face appears behind the small crack.

"What's wrong?"

"I... um... some bad guys are pursuing me... so... if you could... please, let me hide a little."

The lodge's owner frowned. She must have looked really suspicious, knocking people's door in the middle of the night and whispering with ragged breathing. But...

"Um... I'll leave right away after they are gone... so... just a little... please"

With that, the owner sighed.

"Alright, come in." - she said, opening the door and stepped aside - "Get on the bed."

"Eh? Ah.... okay" - the girl stuttered, then crawled under the bed.

"What're you doing? I told you to get ON the bed!"

"But...."  
It wasn't that she cared about _those stuffs_. But that girl had been sleeping on the bed until just now...

"Hurry up! They're coming."

Hearing that, the girl hastily got on the bed without taking off her cloak. She covered herself from head to toe with the blanket.  
She couldn't hear anything from the other girl.  
There was no sound.

Suddenly, someone banged on the door violently. Then a man's crude voice resounded behind the door.

"Anyone there? Open the door! Or we'll break it!"

The girl curled up, and trembled.  
She couldn't help thinking about what would happen if they caught her.

"What if she can't stop them?  
Wait! Should she stop them in the first place? It's dangerous!  
But if she doesn't stop them...."

Her heartbeat got louder.  
It resounded in her ears.  
"Stupid heart, don't beat so fast!"  
She couldn't hear anything.

Just then, the house fell silent.  
It was so quiet.  
She couldn't help sneaking a peek outside.

There was no one in the house.  
The girl must have driven them out.

And just when she got a little calmer, she felt it.

"It's warm."

She had been lying on this bed just until now.  
Her warmth was still there.  
A light fragrance was still lingering around.

"It's really warm."

Suddenly, sleepiness attacked her.  
She knew she shouldn't in the current situation.  
But she couldn't help it.  
The running had taken it toll on her.  
Her limbs were tired.  
Her eyelids felt heavy.  
Her mind was drifting away.  
And this bed....

On this bed.... she felt safe.  
That girl could protect her...  
She will protect her...  
Surely...

How long had it been since she was able to sleep peacefully like this?


	2. Prologue 2

DISCLAIMER: All Negima characters belong to Akamatsu Ken.

* * *

The Princess and The Witch

Prologue - Part 2

Burning...  
The town was burning  
The flame dyed red a part of the sky  
But, other than the sounds of the burning fire and the collapsing buildings  
There was no cries or screams  
No human sound could be heard  
None at all

********

"That dream again?"

Konoka slowly opened her eyes and stood up. She had just taken a nap under a tree aside the road.

"I shouldn't have left without saying a word. But I don't think I should bother her anymore than I already did."

She headed to the town. It was a large town, where you could find almost everything you need, whether it be food, or domestic furniture, or weapons, armors, arcane items, and especially mercenaries. She had been doing okay until recently, but her enemies were getting stronger. Last night, her golems had been wiped out completely in just a few seconds. Had it not been for that girl…

"Guild Ala Alba? What a strange name." said Konoka while she walked through the wooden door.

********

It was past noon, the sun was shining brightly. Konoka was sitting idly under a tree at the town's outskirt. She had posted a request at the guild for a guardian, had her lunch, and bought some necessities. Now she was waiting for her bodyguard.

"He should be here soon". Konoka spoke to no one. She idly thought about her mission…

Inside her bag was a small ring. It was just a cheap ring that you could buy anywhere, but it was a dying man's wish to give that ring to his lover. And to fulfill that wish was the least she could-

Konoka's thought was interrupted by many men approaching. All of them were armed, some lightly, some heavily. A large man wielding an equally large axe, appeared to be the leader, spoke up in a husky voice.

"You sure gave us quite some troubles, little missy. But it's all ended now."

Konoka looked around. She had been surrounded. The men had been spending all this time pursuing her, they weren't going to let her off easy. But she couldn't allow herself to be captured here.

"O great mother who bears all lives, bound to my command, let thy rage open my path."

From everywhere, countless streams of water flowed in mid-air toward her and gathered into two large masses by her sides, twirling around violently. The water's current created a strong gust of wind in the surrounding area, blowing her hair about.

"Damn!"

The large man cursed while charging toward her as fast as he could, but

"Blow away!"

At Konoka's command, the two water masses shot out to the opposite direction of the man, and she ran along with them with all her strength. The current swept away all the men in its path, opened up a way for her.

"Don't let her escape!"

The man shouted to his men and chased after Konoka toward the forest.

She ran with all her might  
She didn't even dare to look back  
If she could reach the forest, her chance of escaping would-

"Stop right there~~!"

The large man took a huge leap over her head, and landed right in front of her, stopping her right in her track. The other men took that chance to surround her again.

With this distance, she would get hit before she could even mutter a spell.  
The man slowly approached her  
She had no chance of escaping  
The man raised his axe  
And...

"Shinmei-ryū hiken! Zankūsen!"

*insert an OP movie here*

* * *

Konoka: Konoe Konoka…

Setsuna: and Sakurazaki Setsuna…

Both: welcome to the Preview corner~~~

Setsuna: from now on, there will be a preview corner at the end of each chapter, where we will talk about the next chapter.

Konoka: That's right! I really want to know what's going to happen next. My knight in shining armor has finally come to my rescue.

Setsuna: Unfortunately, ojousama, the next chapter is not a continue of the prologue but it will start at another point instead.

Konoka: Eeeh!? I want to see what happens next!

Setsuna: Also, since the author thinks that the first two chapters were too short (it can't be helped with the flow of the story), the next chapter should be longer. It should be…

Konoka: I want to see what happens next! I want to see what happens next! I want to see what happens next!

Setsuna: Pl-please calm down, ojousama *sweatdrop*

_*Author's note: don't ask me why is the incantation in English. To begin with, I don't know Latin, and I doubt many of you do. I can somehow make Japanese incantations too, but that's out of question. So I will just stick with English incantations._


	3. Chapter 1: Night of Fate

DISCLAIMER: All Negima characters belong to Akamatsu Ken.

* * *

The Princess and The Witch

Chapter 1 - Night of Fate

_When I came to, I was lying on a bed.  
In front of my eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling._

_"Are you awake?"_

_I heard a warm voice called out beside me. When I looked at the voice's source, I saw a gentle old woman sitting beside the bed._

_"What was you doing collapsed on the road like that?" the old woman asked warmly_

_"........."_

_"Where are your parents?"_

_".........."_

_"What's your name?"_

_"..........."_

_The woman frowned in concern. Just as she was about to turn away..._

_".....na"_

_"Did you say something?" the old woman asked_

_"... Setsuna. My name's Sakurazaki Setsuna."_

_The old woman smiled warmly again._

****************

I wake up to the small rustling sound. My enemies have appeared.

The sun is shining over my head. But the forest is so dense that only a small part of its light can reach the ground.

In that dim light, I walk toward my destination.  
In that direction, there are unmistakable sounds.  
They sound like the lashing of whips.  
Through the air, on the ground, on the rocks...

Suddenly  
Something lashes out toward me.  
But my Yūnagi flashes.  
The thing lashing out is cut apart.  
But half of it has retreated into the depth of the forest.

A vine...

"Treants... they're really here."

I rush forward  
Many vines slash out at me  
But that won't stop my advance  
I swing my sword repeatedly without slowing down  
With every swing, many vines are cut off  
But many more immediately replace them  
The only way to win against these monsters is to strike at the source

I can see it!  
A large tree stands about ten meters in front of me. It must be more than forty-meter high. Its canopy covers a huge area. It's swinging its branches and vines around violently.  
But it won't let me get near it easily  
Hundreds of vines are swinging back and forth between it and me.  
If that's the case...

I stop and regain my footing  
Multiple vines swarm toward me immediately  
I take my stance and concentrate ki in my sword...

"Shinmeiryū Ougi... "

There's only one enemy in front of my eyes  
It's that large tree!

"Hyakka Ryōran!"

With my swing, the air around me is turned into hundreds of wind blades  
All the vines are cut to shreds in an instance  
The blades don't stop there, they cut through the air and fly toward the large tree  
The tree is torn apart  
But...

"...It's regenerating?"

That's right...  
Just cutting it apart won't eliminate it completely.  
As long as it's still possessed by an evil spirit it will continue to live.  
But my techniques are for dealing with things like this.

I step closer to the regenerating tree  
It tries to attack me with its vines  
But now that it has been severely weakened, those are no longer of any threat  
I hold my sword upward with both my hands

"Shinmeiryū Ougi... Zanmaken ni-no-tachi."

The tree collapses with a loud wail.  
I slowly breathe out.  
Now that the evil spirit has been-

"!?"

I instinctively jump forward  
I can hear the ground breaking behind me  
Right when I land, I turn around immediately  
Many vines have struck the ground right where I was standing, forming a large hole there

"There are more!?"

Many vines swarm toward me  
But I jump up a nearby tree branch to dodge them  
I jump from branch to branch while trying to analyze my enemies

There are two more treants  
They're close to each other  
But they seem to be more aggressive than the last one  
They coil many vines together into large ones and swing them around  
With every swing, they brought down many trees.  
The trees collapse one after another around me.

"Tch! Even though they are trees too..."

I jump from branch to branch; sometimes jump down to the ground and up again dodging the collapsing trees while trying to get near the monsters.  
Just then...

I see a squirrel running under a falling tree  
It's going to be crushed

Stupid animal  
I don't have time for that  
I'm in danger myself  
If I save it, I'll die for sure  
I won't make it in time  
....

"Guess I'm stupid too..."

I lunge at the small animal  
It looks at me with its big, round eyes  
I quickly scoop it with my hand and hold it in my chest  
I try to dodge the collapsing tree  
But it's too late...

My vision is blurred with red  
Someone's hair is fluttering in front of my eyes  
A girl in deep blue knight armor

The tree was split in half from top to bottom  
That girl must have cleave it with her giant blade  
That blade must be longer than the girl's height, and totally unfit for her small figure  
Yet even with that blade and her heavy armor, the girl still looks so elegant

"Are you alright?" the girl turns her head to me and asks

"Huh? Ah… I-I'm alright. Thank you." I stutter my answer in embarrassment.

Why the hell am I embarrassed? I just felt a little captivated by her elegance. There's nothing shameful about that.

"Please stay here. I'll take care of those things quickly!" the girl turns to the monster and readies to dash away.

"Wait!"

She can handle them all by herself, I'm sure of it.  
This girl's strong, so I don't need to worry about her.  
But, this is my mission.

"I can fight too." I look straight into her eyes

"Huh? But shouldn't you take care of that little one?" she points ask the squirrel I'm still holding.

"Don't worry, it's alright. So… please take care of one of them."

It might be rude to turn her away, plus we don't have time to argue.

"Okay, you take care of the other then."

Saying that, she turns and dashes toward one of the monsters  
At the same time, I rush toward my target as well  
The little squirrel lies quietly in my left hand  
There won't be any problem even with it then

A coil of vines rushes toward me together with many other vines

"I don't have time to play with you."

I jump over it right before it reaches me  
The large coil immediately changes its direction and aim for my back  
I slash back at it to gain some more momentum  
Right as I land on its 'body', I stamp hard on it and run along its length  
Toward the main body

The monster must have realized my intention as the vines start to uncoil under my feet  
But it's too late already  
I can see the large tree monster in front of me  
I jump toward a nearby tree and kick at it to plunge toward the monster

"Shinmeiryū ougi…"

One strike is enough  
Even if it's a monster, a tree is still a tree

"Zanganken!"

My target is not its body, but the ground under it  
The ground breaks apart, and together with it, the monster's roots are severed cleanly  
The monster wails violently as it collapses  
It swings its branches around and struck down many trees in vain  
I ready my sword

"Shinmeiryū ougi… Zanmaken ni no tachi!"

My sword strikes down  
I can see the black evil spirit resembling a screaming face  
It slowly melts like mist under the sunlight

"Return from whence you come…"

"Whoa! So cool!"

I hear a voice behind me.  
I turn back and see that girl standing there, with her hands held together in front of her chest and her eyes sparkling.  
The other monster must have been eliminated.

"Eh… it's nothing… really" *sweatdrop*

I scratch my head in embarrassment.  
I shouldn't do that too much

"Thank you for your assistance." I bow to her to express my gratitude

"Don't mention it. Anyway, it's getting… late. So… I should return… now." She waves her hand and answer

"Right, I should be going too. Please pardon… me?"

Why is she still standing there and occasionally glance at me with uneasy eyes?

"H-Hey." She speaks out nervously with her head hanged down

"Y-Yes?"

"May I… may I…"

"…?"

"May I… pet it?" she points at the squirrel still lying quietly in my hand

"......"

***********

"Geez! You don't have to laugh that hard." The girl says while she holds the little animal in her hand and gently pets it.

"Sorry. I couldn't hold myself.  
But you don't have to ask. It's not like that child is mine or anything." I say apologetically while holding my stomach. I still feel a little hurt.

"So, can I have it?"

"Like I said, it's not mine. You can keep it if you like."

"Yahoo~~!" the girl beams and suddenly jumps around. Her hands hold the little squirrel high in mid air. It doesn't look like it has any complaint either.

Suddenly, she turns to face me.

"Asuna"

"?"

"My name is Asuna…… Kagurazaka Asuna. What's yours?"

"Setsuna, Sakurazaki Setsuna. Nice to meet you." I stand up and bow

"Me too!" she bows back, and suddenly holds her hand over her mouth

"Whoa, it's late already! I have to go back now or he will scold me! See ya!"

"Yeah, see you." I wave my hand

With that, Asuna runs away and disappears among the trees.

"I have to be going too."

The sun is setting.

*****

"I'm home!" I speak out as I'm going through the hunting lodge's door.

There's no one to answer my call, but I just do that anyway.  
The house is still the same.

I used to live here with my family in the hunting season some time ago, but now I just use it to pass the night when I have business in the forest.  
After all, they're all... gone.

I shake my head.  
It's all in the past now.  
Let bygones be bygones

I put away my coat, prepare my dinner, and have dinner alone, then finally go to bed.  
I'm going return to the guild early tomorrow to report about my mission.

"Good night…" I say to the empty room

***********

_"Where are we going, obaachan?" I asked the old woman holding my right hand while walking along her side._

_"To the village, my dear." The woman answered with a warm smile._

_That smile rarely left her face. After all, it reflected her personality well. She always treated people, or at least me, with great affection. Even when I made a serious mistake, she just scolded me gently._

_"We only live at the lodge during the hunting season. After that, we return to the village and live with everyone." Said the old man to my left._

_He was, like his wife, a good-nature person, even if his seasoned face might not look like it.  
After all, not many people would take care of a child who appeared out of nowhere. More so if that child was a…_

_"Don't worry, the villagers are all good people. They will surely treat you well." The woman must have noticed my though as she said so while looking at me with assuring eyes._

***********

I wake up to the loud noises.  
It must be midnight  
Someone is banging on the door.  
That person must be in a hurry.

I grab my sword and rush to the door.  
There's a small voice behind it.

A girl's voice…  
Who could it be? In the middle of the night…  
I crack open the door a little…

"What's wrong?"

"I... um... some bad guys are pursuing me... so... if you could... please, let me hide a little." The girl whispers under her ragged breathing.

The girl's wearing a hood, so I can't see her face clearly. Not that I can see anything clearly with only the moonlight.  
Everything about her screams suspicious.  
_This girl is nothing but trouble_, my instinct tells me.

"Um... I'll leave right away after they are gone... so... just a little... please"

_Stay away! Don't get involved with her!  
It'll be too late once you get involved!_

The girl looks at me with pleading eyes.  
I guess I'm really stupid after all.  
I sigh with resignation.

"Alright, come in." I said while opening the door, step aside and point to the bed "Get on the bed."

"Eh? Ah.... okay" - the girl stutters, then crawls under the bed.

"What're you doing? I told you to get ON the bed!"

It's not like I'm comfortable with letting another person get on my bed, even if that's a girl. But I can't let her crawl under the bed. Plus, it's easier to stop people from searching on the bed than under it.

"But...." the girl says with hesitation.

"Hurry up! They're coming."

Hearing that, the girl hastily gets on the bed without taking off her cloak and covers herself from head to toe with the blanket.

Let's take care of the so-called bad guys now…  
I look around the house to make sure that nothing is amiss then take a seat at the table. My sword rests beside me.

I can hear many voices outside. Apparently, the pursuers have suspected that their target is hiding around.  
It's not going to end well, I'm sure…

Just then, someone bangs on the door violently. Then a man's crude voice resounds behind the door.

"Anyone there? Open the door! Or we'll break it!"

I take a deep breath, then stand up and slowly walk over to the door.  
I open it with a yawn.

"What is it? Right in the middle of the night..."

Suddenly  
Someone shoves me aside and bursts in without saying anything

That was unexpected.  
To think that they would break in without explaining anything

But that makes things easier.  
I take advantage of the momentum to whirl around and perform a reverse roundhouse kick right into the intruder's chest.  
He staggers backward immediately.  
I jump through the door at once to block it and hold my sword in front of me.

"What're you doing? There's nothing valuable inside, but that doesn't mean I will just let you do whatever you want like that!"

I take a look at my enemies.  
He is a tall man, about 1m8, with a large build, at least double my weight. On his right hand is a befitting large axe.  
Behind him, there are many other men standing around. They form an arc in front of the door, surrounding me.  
They are by no mean inexperienced.

The large man must have regained his composure as he stands up and faces me.

"Get out of my way. I don't have time to deal with you." - he grumbles. His voice is harsh and loud without him even trying. And now it bears clear enmity toward his obstacle.

But I won't back down with just that.

"No." I speak in a calm but firm voice.

I don't think I'm very good at lying, so I won't waste my time making up excuse. And however you look at it, I'm in a better position now because of his rude action.

"Why you!"

Still, my word must have ticked him off as he bellows and charges at me with his axe held high, ready to strike down.  
I take my stance, my left hand hold the scabbard, my right hand holds the grip.  
One more step and…

"Stop!"

My eyes are blurred.  
Before I know it, an armored man has stood in front of me.  
His back faces toward me.  
His left hand's holding the axe's blade right in the middle of its track.

I take a step back instinctively.  
This man is on a different level.  
I have to be careful!

But he ignores me and speaks to the large man.

"What're you doing?"

His tone is normal, but one can sense authority in his voice.  
The large man immediately withdraws his axe and stutters

"Sh-she doesn't let me check inside."

"Have you explained it clearly to her?"

"That…"

I take advantage of the conversation to observe the newcomer, who seems to be the leader.  
He's wearing heavy armor, and his face is covered with a full helmet. However, I can still make out his figure.  
He's a tall man, not as tall as that ogre over there, but tall nonetheless, and is slender build.  
But that movement before…

My thought is interrupted as the man turns toward me.

"I'm really sorry for the trouble my guys must have caused to you, my lady." The man says with a gentle voice

"No, that was nothing much. Please don't mind it"

"May I ask, did you see a girl passing through here just now?"

"Ah.. um... sorry, I was sound asleep....  
until your men _woke_ me up"

It's not really a lie  
I was really sleeping until now, and woke up because _his men_ chased some girl to my house.

"I'm really sorry for that" he bows apologetically then turns toward his men "Okay, everyone, return! There's no point in staying here any longer."

I'm taken aback  
And apparently, his men too.

"Don't you think we should check her house?" The big guy whispers into his ear, even though I'm sure everyone can hear it clearly.

But to that, the man just brushes it aside

"We have caused enough trouble already."

With that, the men withdraw. Their shadows gradually melt into the night forest.

After making sure they're all gone, I go back into the lodge and close the door.  
I walk to the bed, lean my sword next to it.

"Sleep already? Can't you be at least a little worried?" - I sigh while looking at the soundly sleeping girl's face.

I take off her cloak, put it away, then climb onto the bed, lie next to her and...... close my eyes.

"Good night… and don't wake me up this time."

* * *

Setsuna: Sakurazaki Setsuna...

Asuna: and Kagurazaki Asuna...

Both: Welcome to The Princess and The Witch's Preview Cornerrrr~~~

Asuna: By the way, where's Konoka?

Setsuna: She's still sleeping... in my bed.

Asuna: hmm... are you sure you want to leave her alone like that? *hint* *hint*

Setsuna: what're you suggesting? To begin with, even though there's some hint of special connection between us, we're supposed to be strangers. *sweatdrop*

Asuna: uhuh, so you will do **something** if you two aren't strangers huh?

Setsuna: wh-what're you saying? Please get on with the preview. *massive sweatdrop*

Asuna: trying to change the topic huh? Okay, I'll let it slide... this time.

Setsuna: when the princess faces great danger, her knight will come and rescue her on a white horse with shining armor (maybe)

Asuna: next on The Princess and The Witch, the fateful encounter filled with chivalry(?) and romance(?)...

Both: Chapter 2, Knight in Shining Armor!

Setsuna: (that was really embarrassing *sweatdrop*)


End file.
